Clever Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Eating healthy can be a bit of a struggle especially for those living a busy lifestyle on a budget. Healthy fresh food can be expensive plus it goes off very quickly meaning you can end up wasting a lot. To help you combat this problem here are the bet clever ways to eat healthy on a budget.

PLAN

If you want to save a bit of money but maintain your healthy eating habits, planning is essential. Nominate one day of the week for you to sit down and plan your meals for the week. Think breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks. If you take your lunch to work then consider that you need to plan a meal that can be packed easily. Think about what kind of food you want to eat as well and how long it usually lasts for. This means you can plan your meals accordingly so that nothing goes out of date before it is used.

MEAL PREP

Preparing your meals in advance will save you a huge amount of time as the week goes on plus it will help you stick to your healthy eating plan. If you are buying a large portion of meat, divide it up and freeze it so that it lasts longer. Chop up your lunch salad for the next few days so that you don’t have to do it when you come home from work. By having your dinners prepared and ready to go straight into the oven when you come home at night you will feel a lot more relaxed. This should help you resist that inclination after a long day to phone a takeaway.

LEARN TO LOVE LEFTOVERS

Instead of freezing uncooked meat you can also try cooking double or triple portions of entire meals and freezing them. Great options for this is chili, curry, soup and stew. This means that when you are reaching the end of the week you can simply take out a portion the night before to defrost and by the next day it will be ready to get heated up. This is also great for when you are struggling for time. Perhaps something came up and you missed your meal prep day or your trip to the supermarket was delayed. If you have a couple of spare portions ready made in the freezer it will help you stay on track.

STOP BUYING JUNK FOOD

Get into the habit now of trying out new, healthier snacks. Replace crisps with nuts and popcorn (with no added butter or sugars). Try fruit with peanut butter instead of chocolate. Once you have found a few healthier snack options, stock your cupboards and stop buying junk. Once you are in a routine of prepping and planning your healthy meals and opting for the healthy snack options it will become much easier to avoid eating rubbish. Sugar is like a drug. Once you have weaned yourself off it, your cravings should subside. If you don’t have any junk food in your house and you have plenty of healthy foods and snacks ready to go you will be must less likely to order takeaway or head to the shops for something sweet.